The Towering Inferno (1974)

At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Richard Martin Stern (novel), Thomas N. Scortia (novel)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden

Won 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve McQueen	...	Chief O'Hallorhan
Paul Newman	...	Doug Roberts
William Holden	...	Jim Duncan
Faye Dunaway	...	Susan
Fred Astaire	...	Harlee Claiborne
Susan Blakely	...	Patty
Richard Chamberlain	...	Simmons
Jennifer Jones	...	Lisolette
O.J. Simpson	...	Jernigan
Robert Vaughn	...	Senator Parker
Robert Wagner	...	Dan Bigelow
Susan Flannery	...	Lorrie
Sheila Allen	...	Paula Ramsay (as Sheila Mathews)
Norman Burton	...	Giddings (as Normann Burton)
Jack Collins	...	Mayor Ramsay

Storyline

Doug Roberts, Architect, returns from a long vacation to find work nearly completed on his skyscraper. He goes to the party that night concerned he's found that his wiring specifications have not been followed and that the building continues to develop short circuits. When the fire begins, Michael O'Halleran is the chief on duty as a series of daring rescues punctuate the terror of a building too tall to have a fire successfully fought from the ground.

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Plot Keywords:

disaster film | race against time | firefighter | smoke | breaking a window | 

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Taglines:

The tallest building in the world is on fire. You are there with 294 other guests... ...There's no way down. There's no way out.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 1975 (France)

Also Known As:

La tour infernale

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$116,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$139,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,Warner Bros.,Irwin Allen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo (Japan theatrical release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35:1 (35mm) 2.2:1(70mm)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The HH-1N helicopters are in the original paint scheme used by NAS Lemoore's (CA) Search and Rescue Flight. Later on, they were painted red and white. Up until the unit's disbandment in 2004, the Flight was still pointing out it was their helicopters used in the movie.

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Goofs

The one basic tenet of extinguishing a fire is inexcusably ignored by the fire department, and that is to aim the water or suppressant at the BASE of the fire, not above it.

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Quotes

James Duncan: [showing Senator Parker a rare case of vintage wine] That's all you're going to drink tonight!
Senator Parker: The whole case?

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures logos don't appear in the beginning.

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Connections

Referenced in 9/11 (2002)

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Soundtracks

The Morning After
(uncredited)
Written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
Played at the party when Roberts is first reporting the fire to Duncan

User Reviews

Hot Potato.

"Grand Hotel"-styled disaster epic that, along with the original "Airport" and "The Poseidon Adventure", became a monstrous money-maker which dominated not only economically, but also critically. "The Towering Inferno" is an intense affair as a high-rise skyscraper in San Francisco seems to be a state-of-the-art marvel, but sometimes things are not as perfect as they seem. There are still flaws in the building and naturally a small spark in a utility room will lead to an overwhelming night of terror and heroism. A who's who cast in Hollywood at the time makes up the mind-blowing list of performers. Paul Newman, Robert Vaughn, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner and Jennifer Jones all make lasting impressions. However it is Fred Astaire (in an Oscar-nominated role of a lifetime) and then-Buffalo Bill superstar O.J. Simpson (showing the style, grace and power that he showed on the playing field here in his debut screen performance) that stand out and create a higher dimension to an honestly corn-filled story. A terribly difficult production to pull off due to the very large scope involved. The technical effects compete well with the all-world performers to make a stunningly impressive movie. Near the top of the usually ho-hum genre of the period. 4 stars out of 5.